Once fired brass

[DAB]

was at a gun shop today, didn't buy a gun , but came across this.



i just give my brass away. i must be doing it wrong.

45 brass was even more.

[99 pewtercoupe]

Not sure how much you shoot a week or month but it could be worth your time to look at reloading. I'm sure there are several members here who can give you some idea of what it would cost per round if you were to reload your own

[DAB]

i have the equipment to reload, and have done so previously, but with a single stage press, it takes me an hour to do 50 rounds. if i can find components. i shoot maybe 1000-2000 rounds a year, a mix of 9mm, 45acp, & 40SW. i'd rather spend time doing other things, so i buy commercial ammo in bulk.

i've sent spent 9mm brass to someone here, i can get over 500 cases in a small flat rate box, and he reimburses postage, so everyone comes out happy. it's about $6 to send the box.

i don't try to recover brass at matches, too much else going on. but i do pick up my brass when i practice, sort it out, and save it up.

[five-oh]

No wonder my reloading friend is happy with me... I'm one of the lead firearms instructors at my little department- (21 sworn officers). Every 3 months or so, some times more often, we'll shoot an average of 100 rounds an officer, and I police the range and take the brass- all once fired .45acp- to him. Didn't realize it costs so much..

[VITE1]

I can buy 1000 rounds of 9MM online for a boy 250.00 delivered. 9mm Ammo - Cheap, In-Stock 9x19 Pistol Rounds for Sale

[Bill]

I can't figure out why my once fired condom business hasn't taken off.

[Jeff '79]

How can they prove that it wasn't fired more than once?

I'll take your word for it.

[Kerrmudgeon]

If you read the carton, it looks like the used brass goes through quite a few steps to get them ready for reloading. Like being pre primed, etc. All takes time.

[markids77]

That brass is ready to load, having much of the tedious work of case preparation already done. It has been sorted for caliber, tumble cleaned, inspected for defects, deprimed, resized and checked for trim length. If the vendor has good quality control every case in that pack should be ready to use... no dents, splits, steel cases or Berdan military primers. All this inspection/prep takes time. I probably spend 4 to 6 hours getting 1k range pickup brass to that point, not including the 2 or so hours the cases spend in the tumbler. That is why it is so expensive; and is still priced about half the cost of new factory brass.

[Jeff '79]

Originally Posted by markids77

That brass is ready to load, having much of the tedious work of case preparation already done. It has been sorted for caliber, tumble cleaned, inspected for defects, deprimed, resized and checked for trim length. If the vendor has good quality control every case in that pack should be ready to use... no dents, splits, steel cases or Berdan military primers. All this inspection/prep takes time. I probably spend 4 to 6 hours getting 1k range pickup brass to that point, not including the 2 or so hours the cases spend in the tumbler. That is why it is so expensive; and is still priced about half the cost of new factory brass.

Ya, but that's half the fun!

[markids77]

Originally Posted by Jeff '79

Ya, but that's half the fun!

True dat. I spend many relaxing hours fooling with homebrewing my ammo... I find it relaxing, and rewarding. Therapeutic even and my stuff shoots better than factory because I have taken the time to develop good loads for each gun I shoot in competition or in anger. Guns are somewhat like people they have distinct preferences for what they are fed.

[Jeff '79]

Originally Posted by markids77

True dat. I spend many relaxing hours fooling with homebrewing my ammo... I find it relaxing, and rewarding. Therapeutic even and my stuff shoots better than factory because I have taken the time to develop good loads for each gun I shoot in competition or in anger. Guns are somewhat like people they have distinct preferences for what they are fed.

Same here

[mrvette]

Been a few decades, I remember reloading all sorts of ammo....RCBS press and do the whole process....my only gripe was doing automatic pistol ammo, the feeding ramp would alway push the bullet back into the shell, no matter WHAT I did for crimping.....and of course any glue/crap not around that I knew of back then....and I never could get my Colt 1911 to feed any hollow point at all, in fact even the 9 would not reliable feed hollow point....

but my .357 wheel gun has no such issue,.....geee wonder why????

[markids77]

Originally Posted by mrvette

Been a few decades, I remember reloading all sorts of ammo....RCBS press and do the whole process....my only gripe was doing automatic pistol ammo, the feeding ramp would alway push the bullet back into the shell, no matter WHAT I did for crimping.....and of course any glue/crap not around that I knew of back then....and I never could get my Colt 1911 to feed any hollow point at all, in fact even the 9 would not reliable feed hollow point....

but my .357 wheel gun has no such issue,.....geee wonder why????

You needed a taper crimp die for the pistol cases... just like the name implies it compresses a taper into the top of the case to hold the bullet firm.

Your revolver ammo probably had a roll crimp applied to the cannelure in the projectile physically locking the bullet in place. Also a revolver never needs to slam the next cartridge into the feed ramp of the barrel to chamber the next round. They just sat in the cylinder quietly waiting their turn.

[markids77]

Originally Posted by VITE1

I can buy 1000 rounds of 9MM online for a boy 250.00 delivered. 9mm Ammo - Cheap, In-Stock 9x19 Pistol Rounds for Sale

If I have range pickup brass, I can put together 1000 rounds of 115gr plated round nose practice 9mm for $140.00 or so. As with any hobby, my labor is free. But I can shoot nearly twice as much for the same money.

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by markids77

You needed a taper crimp die for the pistol cases... just like the name implies it compresses a taper into the top of the case to hold the bullet firm.

Your revolver ammo probably had a roll crimp applied to the cannelure in the projectile physically locking the bullet in place. Also a revolver never needs to slam the next cartridge into the feed ramp of the barrel to chamber the next round. They just sat in the cylinder quietly waiting their turn.

Been a few decades and I remember all of your comments, just never could get a HP .45 auto round to feed, not TOO much of an issue with hardball...but getting a gunsmith to figger it out was too much $$$ at the time, better to buy another gun and have fun sniping ground hogs.....

.270 win....Belgian Mauser, Douglass Barrel, custom Honduran Mahogany stock, steel rings, Redfield scope.....loved that rifle.....wish I never got rid of it........something that Chris Kyle could smile over.....

[Admiral Blue]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

I can't figure out why my once fired condom business hasn't taken off.

Probably because, like the ammo carton says, yours are trimmed so they don't fit anyone else.

[DAB]

That made Mrs. DAB laugh.

[StaticCling]

Originally Posted by markids77

That brass is ready to load, having much of the tedious work of case preparation already done. It has been sorted for caliber, tumble cleaned, inspected for defects, deprimed, resized and checked for trim length. If the vendor has good quality control every case in that pack should be ready to use... no dents, splits, steel cases or Berdan military primers. All this inspection/prep takes time. I probably spend 4 to 6 hours getting 1k range pickup brass to that point, not including the 2 or so hours the cases spend in the tumbler. That is why it is so expensive; and is still priced about half the cost of new factory brass.

I have never trimmed pistol brass. Never. I don't even measure it. I've read that Magnum calibers need to be trimmed on occasion, but regular straight walled pistol cases actually shrink in many cases. More than likely, you will wear the case out before it would ever need to be trimmed.

Reloading is economical. Hell I can reload 38special with wadcutters and a few grains of Unique and it's cheaper than shooting .22LR

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by DAB

i just give my brass away. i must be doing it wrong.

45 brass was even more.

Although that is high, that is not simply a package of spent brass - dropped in a box for resale.

If you've ever reloaded ... all the listed prep steps listed on the lable... that's a lot of labor right there (and does have some worth... up & above the brass value alone).